The city of Yongzhou is devastated.

Everywhere there are gray-black traces of overheating. It is a lively and prosperous street market all year round, and the houses that smoke from the morning and dinner are rising, as well as schools, warehouses, barracks, temples, Taoist temples, and most of the buildings in Yongzhou City are burned to the ground.

The embers of the trees in the houses, washed away by the rain of the previous days, collected in the low-lying areas of the street corners and turned into puddles of black sludge. Corpses were scattered in the streets, in houses, in pools, and in the fire along with the burned houses.

Su Ziyuan stood in front of a pile of rubble in a daze, looking at the remnants in front of him in a daze. Even if he followed Han Gang's side and heard that Yongzhou City was broken and his father was martyred, Su Ziyuan refused to admit it, but the reality was right in front of him.

In the Yongzhou Prefecture with dozens of pavilions, only half of the blackened eight-character wall remains.

The gatehouse, where hundreds of people come and go every day, is gone; dealt with one big case after another, and the lobby where the New Year's banquet was held was gone; The second hall that deals with daily trivial official duties is also gone.

Like a ghost, Su Ziyuan walked through the front yard and into the ruins of the backyard. Staggering through the rubble, one foot deep, one foot shallow. He stumbled in the slippery ashes and fell to the ground. The palm was cut by a protruding nail, and bright red blood gushed out, and I looked down at the wound, but I didn't feel the pain. Helped up by the soldiers who had caught up behind him, he continued to walk forward.

The two plantains in front of the flower hall were burned; A bamboo forest in the backyard he liked was burned; The study room in the house, with nearly 10,000 books in it, was half a cabin when I first came to Yongzhou, but now it is gone; The main compartment of his parents, the side compartment where the second and third brothers lived, and the small courtyard where he lived when he came back were all reduced to ashes.

the strict father and mother who gave birth to himself and educated him Su Ziyuan as an adult; the second and third brothers who are playing, learning, and growing together; a wife who pours a cup of tea while she is a member of the board of directors; Do things like the eldest son of an old pedant; The second son who loves to be lazy when he reads and makes himself angry every time; and Qi Niang, the youngest and most likable to the family, these people are all gone.

The houses, the flowers, the furnishings, and the people inside, everything in the Yongzhou Prefecture is gone, except for the memories left in his heart, there is nothing.

Su Ziyuan looked at all this with a blank expression, and he was full of grief that wanted to tear his heart apart. But he touched his face, it was dry, there were no tears, only the palm was wet, it was blood.

When he mourns, he cries, but now he doesn't know how to cry out.

He hoped that this was a dream, and that when he woke up, he would be able to see the smiling faces of his parents, brothers, wife and children. But he told himself that it was not a dream, and that from now on, he was alone.

"But Dalang?" An inexplicably familiar female voice sounded behind Su Ziyuan.

"Who?!" The guards sent to him by Han Gang shouted loudly.

Su Ziyuan turned around, and a familiar figure was reflected in his eyes, it was a nurse with her daughter at home. When he finally saw who was in the woman's arms, his eyes widened.

He walked up tremblingly and asked in disbelief, "Seventh sister?" It's the Seventh Sister!? ”

The little girl opened her big eyes and looked up at Su Ziyuan. It wasn't until he was held in his arms that he grabbed Su Ziyuan's shirt and cried out: "Daddy...... Daddy......"

"Ever since Da Lang left, the Jiaozhi thieves have been surrounding the city. Many of the people in the house went up to the city. Vancoeur went to town and ...... It's gone. Jiro was also gone later. Saburo fell ill a little earlier. But the city remained guarded until the thieves had piled up the earth on the city. On the day the city was broken, the city was full of fire. Tang Tongju, Tan Guanguan, and Gao Chan were all dead. When the master saw that he couldn't stop it, he let the rest of us leave, and then ...... Then he drank poisoned wine with the old lady. Jiro and Saburo's family all drank it. Lao Duguan was going to take Brother Qing out of Lu, but Brother Qing refused to leave. Say...... said that he was a son of the Su family, and he couldn't lose the face of the Su family. The most concubine asked the slave maid to come out with the seventh sister. said that only the seventh sister is a girl, and she can be brought out...... After coming out, he has been hiding...... The seventh sister never cried. ”

The woman cried intermittently, Su Ziyuan hugged her daughter tightly, I don't know when his tears finally welled up, this God, at least one daughter was left for him!

……………………

Two days later.

Han Gang led his army to Yongzhou City.

I didn't see the tragedy of Yongzhou City with my own eyes, and everything that happened in Yongzhou City was just a confession from a prisoner of Jiaozhi for Han Gang. I don't know how determined Tang Zi is dying with the enemy, nor does he know how resolute Lu Dao Su threw himself into the fire, let alone how difficult it is to defend such a city.

When Han Gang walked on the streets of Yongzhou City and looked at the ruins on both sides, he experienced this issue firsthand. Anger, sadness, and mixed feelings made him feel panicked.

Although the thieves had only entered the city for a day or two, it took the Song people more than twenty years to rebuild Yongzhou City from the ruins of the Nong Zhigao Rebellion, and most of the area was reduced to ashes. Standing on the only five-story wooden tower in the city that has not burned down, look out at the past. Divided by criss-crossed streets, there are gray and black plots everywhere.

Yongzhou has been destroyed, and both the people and the city have to start all over again.

There are still people in the city, all of whom are cleaning up their homes that have been burned down and looted.

It had been some time since the Cochin army left, and some of the inhabitants who had fled into the mountains had returned. After Su Ziyuan entered the city, the Song banner hung on the head of the city announced that the Song Dynasty officials and troops had returned to Yongzhou City, and there were many more residents who returned to Yongzhou.

It's just that now that the people in Yongzhou City have returned to Yongzhou City, Su Ziyuan has asked people to count them before, but there are only more than 10,000. Even if some of them have not been returned, they will not add up to more than 30,000. Compared with the household registration of Yongzhou City in the old days, and the people who fled into the city before the siege of the Jiaozhi army, 30,000 people are too few.

Are there 30,000 or 50,000 people who died in the city?

The exact numbers are no longer able to be counted. But the corpses of the people of Yongzhou, as long as they walk into the city and raise their eyes, even if they close their eyes, the strong smell in their noses is also a reminder of how many dead souls there are.

Han Gang closed his eyes, swirled and opened them, all his emotions were suppressed in his heart, and he returned to a calm and calm state.

"We must do the epidemic prevention work immediately! There are also sanatoriums, which should also be set up at the same time. ”

"All the people in the city have to do it, whether they are owners or not, and all the bodies must be taken out of the city within five days to be buried or cremated."

"Clear a clean place to live in the city. If you can't find a suitable place in the city, choose one outside the city. In any case, it cannot be inhabited too close to the corpse. ”

"To ensure a clean water source, firewood must also be secured."

"There must be lime to disinfect, and a lime kiln must be built near Yongzhou City as soon as possible."

"There is still grain, the grain depot in the city has been burned, and the nearby villages are gone, so we must transport grain from Wuyuan County or Penn to Yongzhou as soon as possible."

If Han Gang and Li Xin don't have enough personal soldiers around them who are familiar with some medical skills; If Han Gang's men don't have enough soldiers to listen to the call; If Han Gang hadn't had the merit of defeating Li Changjie and beheading tens of thousands, he would have established enough prestige among the military and civilians of Yongzhou at once; If he is not a transit deputy with sufficient authority. He had to do so much that it would never be possible to do it smoothly.

However, Han Gang had all the power, prestige, and manpower, just like a waterwheel that put a water wheel into the flowing water, and immediately ran smoothly.

Ordering the affairs that needed to be taken care of urgently, Han Gang came to the state government that had become a ruin, and came to Su Ziyuan, who was standing in the ruins. opened his mouth and wanted to say comfort, but he didn't know how to say a thousand words, and he only squeezed out one sentence at the end: "Boxu, the festival mourns and changes." ”

Su Ziyuan stood quietly without any movement. Two days before Han Gang entered the city, he concentrated on handling the affairs of the city, and when Han Gang came, he handed over the matter to Han Gang and returned to the place where his family was again.

Han Gang sighed in a low voice, the lives of more than 30 members of the Su family, how could they be changing lightly? Turning to look at the scorched ruins of the state government: "I failed to save Yongzhou, because Han Gang came too late." ”

"Why should the envoy blame himself? Ziyuan followed the envoy all the way south, and whether there was a delay in the middle, Ziyuan saw it in his eyes. Su Ziyuan turned around and showed a sad smile, his eyes were full of sadness, and he hugged the little daughter in his arms tightly, "Being able to save a little bit of blood and bones is already a great kindness to my Su family." ”

Han Gang looked at the little daughter he was holding in his arms, he was tilting his head, silently stretching out his little hand to go up, wiping his tears for Su Ziyuan. But I haven't seen her for a year, and her appearance has not changed, but she has gone through a catastrophe, just like she has grown up a lot, she was originally a little girl who people liked, and now she is even more well-behaved and distressing.

Han Gang sighed: "Ling Zun died for Yongzhou." Boxu, your whole family, as well as nearly twenty civil and military officials in the city, were also martyred. I have already written a memorabilia, and I am ready to report to the Son of Heaven to build a temple for this purpose. In the future, if you can guard Yongzhou for a long time and protect the people, you must know that Zunquan will not refuse. ”

“…… More labor. Su Ziyuan sincerely thanked Han Gang, and being able to go down in history is already the greatest praise for scholars.

"That's as it should be. Loyal ministers and filial sons, they should invite them to plant the gang and teach in order to maintain the style. Glorious through the ages, as a trainer for future generations. ”

Pulling Su Ziyuan out of the ruins, Han Gang instructed the group of soldiers who had been waiting for a long time, "You can clean it up." Just be careful not to hurt Su Gong and his family. ”

……………………

"Su Mian, Tang Zizheng, Tan Bi, Zhou Cheng, Xue Ju, Liu Shigu, Gao Bian, Zhou Yan, Chen Qi, Ding Qi, Shao Xian, Liang Xuan, Li Xiang, He Yu, Liu Gongxuan, Liu Xifu, Ouyang Yan, Wang Kang, Su Zizheng, Su Ziming, Su Zhiwen."

Han Gang read the long list of names, one name, that is, an official who died in the affairs of the king and martyred the country. Gently put down the list, the registered officials in Yongzhou City are all here, and they chose to live and die with the city together.

The moon on the 14th was not very round, and there was a small gap.

Reflected in the cup, it is also a round of unsatisfactory lack of moon.

The night is deep, and the night in Yongzhou in February is still a little cold. Han Gang sat at the stone table in the small courtyard, with a full wine glass in his hand, and opposite him, there was also a glass of water and wine. It's just that no one drinks with them.

He met Su Mian in the capital last year, and they had a very happy relationship, which can be regarded as a year-old friend. Compared with the intriguing officials in the capital, it is more comfortable to associate with Su Mian, a foreign state official. Who would have thought that after a farewell, the old friend who originally talked and laughed freely is now a wisp of loyalty.

The hero who would rather die than die will die with the city he guards.

It would take at least five days to clean up the corpses in the city—merely those that were exposed; To clean up the ruins in Yongzhou City and find out all the corpses, Han Gang estimated that it would take at least two months; And to restore Yongzhou to the old view, I don't know how many years it will take.

It's a city of many disasters. The big castles on the edge of the edge, even the castles in Kansai, have never been breached again and again. There are evil neighbors at home, and on this side, for more than a thousand years, the place where the Jiaozhi people have stolen has always been Jiaozhou, China. It was only in the fifth generation that it was separated. A thousand years later, the children of China shed their blood in that land.

Han Gang had no intention of thinking about the issue of a thousand years later, and he also put aside his hatred for Jiaozhi for the time being. Only a glass of water and wine in front of him, saluting his deceased friend......